Mississippi church floor collapses, around 35 injured: report

(Reuters) - As many as 35 young worshippers were injured after
part of a second floor of a Mississippi church collapsed during a
Wednesday evening youth service, the organization's pastor said,
according to one local media report.

The second floor youth room collapsed onto the first floor
kitchen at Freedom Baptist Church in rural Jones County, about
100 miles southeast of Jackson, Mississippi, according to the
Chronicle, a local newspaper.

"In the middle of the student service, the floor - which is a
second story floor - gave way, causing about 70 students to
fall," church pastor Tommy Davis said, according to a video on
the newspaper's website. "But it's got to be said that no one was
seriously injured, no one was trapped."

As many as 35 people were injured and more than a dozen were sent
to nearby hospitals, the newspaper reported. Injuries ranged from
scrapes and bruises to lacerations, head injuries, and broken
bones.

Reuters could not independently confirm the incident with local
and state officials. The church and an area hospital did not
immediately respond to requests for information.

(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Read the original article on Reuters. Copyright 2014. Follow Reuters on Twitter.